bloggedy blog: the personal weblog of a music lover and aging punk wannabe

:: Monday, November 24, 2003 ::

From the "as they sow, so shall they reap" department
I'm having a hard time mustering much sympathy for Benny Hinn and Reinhard Bonnke as I read about their allegedly being bilked of $160 million in a ponzi scheme. What irks me is how such ministries can get so wealthy by bilking so many lower-class donors. Meanwhile, smaller ministries striving to meet true needs on a local level are struggling.

I really haven't paid much heed to televangelists in recent years, even though an unfortunate number of people in the local church I attend continue to support these charlatans, either directly or indirectly (through book purchases, watching them on TV, etc.) But the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's recent series about Joyce Meyer Ministries has raised my dander again. In Sunday's Post was an excellent letter from a St. Louis minister who was much more charitable in his assessment of the issues the series have raised than I would have been:

I have no problem with Joyce Meyer as a televangelist. She is enormously talented and is a gifted speaker. I have no doubt that her abilities have been blessed by God.

I have no problem with her ministry. She has given hope and encouragement to thousands of people.

I do have a problem with the numbers. As executive director of the region's largest 24-hour shelter for homeless single women and families, I am struggling to purchase 25 bunk beds because the number of homeless people is rapidly increasing. As we approach winter, this increase borders on a crisis situation.

The cost of these 25 bunk beds is $13,000. That's less than the $14,000 Meyer spent on one office bookcase.

Because we are required to house more homeless people, we have to renovate three restrooms so that more sinks, showers and commodes can be provided. Renovating one restroom will cost $30,000, the cost of Meyer's malachite round table.

At this time, my agency houses 145 homeless people; by mid-January, that number will increase to 170. We spend more than $8,000 monthly just for food; the Dresden porcelain that depicts the Nativity would, in other words, feed our homeless population for one month.

I have no doubt that God blesses those who serve Him, and I understand the concept that is relayed by Meyer's motto that greets visitors at the front entryway of her office complex, "Look What the Lord Has Done."

I have to question, however, whether the Lord would be more pleased by providing housing for His people or buying bookcases, or feeding His people as opposed to buying expensive porcelains.

Robert Nelson
Executive Director,
Christian Service Center Inc.
St. Louis

:: Andrew 08:30 + ::
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